


Incurable

by neckbeardandfedora



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Character Death, Comfort, Feels, Ficlet, Flashbacks, Iron Man 3 Changes, Iron Man 3 Spoilers, M/M, Science Bros, drabble-ish, terminal illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-02-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 18:42:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1236958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neckbeardandfedora/pseuds/neckbeardandfedora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Iron Man 3 (spoilers/cannon divergence). After Pepper's death, Tony turns to Bruce for comfort.<br/>Followed by "Terminal": http://archiveofourown.org/works/1281106</p>
            </blockquote>





	Incurable

**Author's Note:**

> Written in a moment of boredom/needs for feels.

“Oh god. Oh god!” Bruce held onto Tony’s undulating hips as best he could. He was right on the edge. Tony’s cock began to spasm in his hand. 

“Fuck fuck fuck!” As his orgasm started shooting through his body, Tony doubled over and furiously kissed Bruce, biting and sucking his lips. As his semen coated their stomachs and chests, Bruce reached his own climax. 

They shook and quivered until they were completely spent. Their kisses slowed to a lazy pace. Bruce softly ran his fingers over Tony’s back, eliciting another shudder.

Bruce grunted as Tony gently raised himself off of his spent cock. He peeled off the condom and threw it in the waste basket while Tony grabbed a t-shirt (of the non-vintage variety). He wiped off Bruce’s chest.

“Sorry about that.”

“Mm no problem. You missed a spot.”

_________

The process was new. No one knew about Extremis, let alone how to get rid of it. Pepper tried to hold back her tears and keep up that half-hearted smile she had through the whole process. Tony just held her hand, no matter how hard she squeezed. He felt her grip loosen. He saw the last bit of life leave her eyes.

That was the first time he cried since she started treatment.

The funeral was a private affair. Paparazzi were kept at bay by several black vehicles and agents from an unknown government organization.

Happy drove Tony to the cemetery. Rhodey was the first one to meet him there. Natasha and Bruce were next. Steve and Clint showed up a few minutes later. They all stood in silence for a half hour before anyone else arrived. Tony had no idea what he had said for the eulogy. When he sat down, he looked at Rhodey, and he gave him a “you did well” nod.

Tony insisted on staying in his rebuilt Malibu home. Bruce insisted on staying with him.

Bruce wasn’t the best when it came to listening to people’s problems, or comforting people. But he was pretty good at giving Tony a reality check. So, when he found Tony into his sixth tumbler of whiskey, he felt pouring the rest of his booze down the drain was the right solution. Tony yelled at him, threw his glass at him, and tried to chug more booze before Bruce could throw it away.

The next morning, Tony went to Bruce with his tail between his legs. They talked. Tony cried. Bruce held onto him through every tear.

_________

“Mmmmm wanna go grab something to eat?” Tony asked as he nuzzled Bruce’s neck.

“Nap first. Then food.”

“You do that. I’m gonna go shower.”

“Sounds good,” Bruce said softly as he drifted away.

Tony carefully got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the tub and started running the water. It only took a few seconds for it to get to just the right temperature. He let the water rain down on his feet and absently ran his hand through the shower.

Bruce would be out for at least on hour. He was content to take his time getting cleaned up. He started thinking about places to eat, and then suit designs, and then the scar on his chest.

_________

They had been living in Malibu together for three months. Bruce kept Tony away from the bottle. Tony kept Bruce busy with all sorts of goodies in the workshop. Except for pictures and video, nothing in the house made it feel like Pepper had ever been there. It was a hollow reminder of his failure.

When his thoughts got too melancholy, Tony would just sit with Bruce and watch him work. One day, Tony found himself moving closer and closer to the oblivious man. He watched his hands carefully handle test tubes and other delicate instruments.

“You okay?”

“Hm?”

“You doing okay?” Bruce put down his work and turned to Tony, looking concerned.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“No.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“No.”

Before Bruce could ask to examine his eyes, Tony leaned in and planted a small, quick kiss on Bruce’s lips. When Bruce just stared at him with complete shock and puzzlement, Tony almost ran as he tried to leave the workshop. He was stopped when Bruce grabbed his arm.

He was ready to be chewed out for invading his personal space, or crossing the line, or something else that made him want to die. He was not ready for Bruce to return the kiss.

_________

Tony stood in the warm shower, his muscles relaxing and his mind clearing in the steam. He lazily began washing himself off with his over-priced body wash. He washed his face with that alcohol-free facial cleanser and washed his hair with the imported special formula shampoo and conditioner he had been using for years. When he put the bottles back on the rack, he looked at Bruce’s generic soap and two-in-one shampoo and conditioner and smirked. No matter how much luxury he threw at him, Bruce held on to the little things. Tony liked it.

_________

They had been stopping at kissing for almost half a year. Tony had Bruce test his semen for radioactivity and it was almost completely normal.

“We can’t.”

“There’s almost no difference between your cum and mine.”

“Semen.”

“Why not cum?”

“That’s…I don’t know.”

“Too sexual?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll use condoms.”

“Do you have lead condoms?”

“I’ve worked with elements with unknown radioactive properties. I’ve been in space.”

“I know, okay? I just don’t want to run the risk of being the one that-”

“You’re not going to kill me.”

“Even if the radioactivity isn’t an issue, I don’t want to risk it with the other guy.”

“Come on. The guy loves me. He probably wants to sleep with me as much as you do.”

Bruce’s eyes flashed green.

“See?” Tony wrapped his arms around Bruce’s waist and kissed him. At first, tenderly. Then Bruce put his hands on Tony’s shoulders and added more heat to the kiss.

“I swear to god, if you die I will kill you.”

After their first time together, Bruce demanded Tony go through a complete physical examination with blood work and every type of sample he could think of. When everything showed up normal, Bruce felt only a modicum of relief.

“We can’t just do this all the time.”

“Science says we can.”

_________

Tony reluctantly got out of the shower and dried off. He stared in the mirror at that scar where the arc reactor once was, zoning out for he didn’t know how long. When he came back to his senses, he grabbed his product and comb and began styling his hair.

_________

“I love you,” he muttered, no longer afraid of the naked truth.

“Love you too,” Bruce replied with a small smile.

_________

When he put the comb down on the counter, something caught his eye. He picked it back up, and looked over it carefully. It was filled with clumps of his graying hair. He rubbed his chin, and his carefully sculpted facial hair also fell out in small chunks.

Panic filled his veins. He combed his hair until nothing else came out. There were handfuls of hair on the counter. He tried to collect himself. 

Bruce couldn’t know. He couldn’t know. It would kill him.

He gathered up all the loose hair that he could and flushed it. His hair wasn’t much thinner now, but his beard was in shambles. He took a breath and shaved off his signature style. He put more product in his hair, and did his best to make it seem thicker.

He jumped when he heard knocking at the door.

“You almost done?”

Tony made sure there was no stray hair before he opened the door.

“Hey. Yeah. Done.”

“What did you do to your face?”

“I shaved. New me. New look.”

“Nice?”

“Yes. Do you like it?”

“Mm…” Bruce sleepily kissed Tony’s bare face. “It’s different, but good. I’m gonna take a quick shower, then we can head out.”

“Sounds good.”

Tony stood there, not sure what to do.

“Can I get in the bathroom?”

“Right.”

Tony stripped the bed, his stomach in knots. He just had to get dressed, and go to dinner, and keep loving Bruce.

That’s all he had to do.


End file.
